Nov. 19, 2014
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State basketball coach Steve Fisher has signed an addendum to his current contract that will keep the two-time national coach of the year under contract as the school's head coach through the 2017-18 season, athletics director Jim Sterk announced Wednesday.
The three-year extension will begin at the end of his current contract, which was scheduled to expire following the 2014-15 season.
"We all know that Steve Fisher is a great basketball coach, but what is equally impressive to those of that watch him on daily basis is how skilled he is at helping his student-athletes become great citizens," Sterk said. "He is a tremendous ambassador, not only for Aztecs athletics, but the entire University.
"The growth of the basketball program has brought great pride to San Diego State University and the people of San Diego. We look forward to him continuing to lead the SDSU basketball program."
"I am appreciative of the fact that (San Diego State president) Dr. Elliot Hirshman, Jim Sterk and the administration want us to continue to be part of San Diego State basketball. We have loved our tenure here and look forward to continuing to be a part of the basketball program for years to come."
Fisher, who is in his 16th year at the helm of the Aztecs program, has guided San Diego State to 11 postseason appearances, including seven NCAA tournament berths, and a Mountain West-record eight conference titles. Additionally, the Aztecs have advanced to the postseason and won at least 20 games nine straight years.
More recently, Fisher has coached San Diego State to five consecutive NCAA tournament bids, and in the last four seasons, the Aztecs have won 30 or more games and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 twice (2011, 2014).
Fisher is on the verge of becoming the program's all-time winningest coach (he has 314 victories at SDSU, two behind George Ziegenfuss with 316), which is remarkable considering where the program was at when he arrived on Montezuma Mesa. Prior to being named head coach, Fisher inherited a team that won four games the season before. In three short years, he guided the Aztecs to the 2002 MW Championship and NCAA tournament. In 2006, Fisher coached SDSU to the MW regular-season and tournament titles en route to another NCAA appearance. That effort served as a catalyst to what is now the aforementioned nine straight postseason berths.
In 2010-11, Fisher led San Diego State to the finest season in school history when the MW champion Aztecs won their first-ever NCAA tournament games and advanced to the Sweet 16 before finishing with a 34-3 record. Then last year, SDSU turned in another Sweet-16 performance and posted a mark of 31-5, which included an MW regular-season title.
One reason for the program's success has been a remarkable continuity among the assistant coaches and staff. Associate head coach/head coach in waiting Brian Dutcher is also in his 16th season at San Diego State, serving as Fisher's top assistant for his entire tenure. In 2011, he was named as Fisher's successor as the next head coach.
"Steve Fisher has assembled a coaching staff that is second to none nationally," Sterk said. "We are ecstatic that Coach Fisher wants to continue leading our Aztec basketball program to greater heights. At the same time, we take comfort in knowing that when he decides to step aside, we have Brian Dutcher, one of the top basketball minds in the country, ready to take over."
In addition to Dutcher, assistant coaches Justin Hutson (seven seasons as an assistant coach) and David Velasquez (13th season with the program and second as an SDSU assistant) are long-time members of the SDSU family. Other tenured staff members include, assistant to the head coach Mark Fisher (13th season at SDSU), director of basketball operations Matt Soria (15th season with the program, eighth as his current position) and director of player of development Tim Shelton (eighth season at SDSU and second in his current role).
"A significant strength of our program over others is the length of time our staff has been at San Diego State," Fisher said. "We are a family. They sincerely enjoy being together with our families and that shows in the way we practice and coach. We are a family."
Steve Fisher San Diego State Year-By-Year
Year School W L Pct. Postseason/Honors
99-00 San Diego State 5 23 .179
00-01 San Diego State 14 14 .500
01-02 San Diego State 21 12 .636 NCAA First Round; First NCAA trip since 1985
02-03 San Diego State 16 14 .552 NIT Second Round
03-04 San Diego State 14 16 .483
04-05 San Diego State 11 18 .379
05-06 San Diego State 24 9 .727 MW regular season and tournament champs; NCAA berth
06-07 San Diego State 22 11 .667 NIT Second Round
07-08 San Diego State 20 13 .606 NIT First Round
08-09 San Diego State 26 10 .722 NIT Semifinals
09-10 San Diego State 25 9 .735 NCAA First Round, MW tournament champions
10-11 San Diego State 34 3 .919 NCAA Sweet 16; MW champions (co-reg. season, tourney), MW COY
11-12 San Diego State 26 8 .765 NCAA Second Round; MW co-reg. season champs; MW COY
12-13 San Diego State 23 11 .676 NCAA Third Round; Fifth straight season with at least 23 wins
13-14 San Diego State 31 5 .861 NCAA Sweet 16; Outright MW regular-season champions
14-15 San Diego State 2 0 1.000
16th Season at SDSU 314 176 .641 7 NCAA Tournaments; 11 Postseason Appearances